phascolarctos

The fauna emblem of Queensland is the Koala, Phascolarctos cinereus.

Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) are herbivore marsupials that live in eastern Australia.

The koala's genus name, Phascolarctos, is derived from Greek phaskolos "pouch" and arktos "bear".

Queensland Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)

The basiocranial (back of skull) features are similar to Phascolarctos, while anterior (facial) features exhibit similarities with the genus Trichosurus.

Because Phascolarctos was published first, according to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, it has priority as the official name of the genus.

The genus diverged from a common ancestor of the other koala genera Nimiokoala, Litokoala and the genus Phascolarctos, which contains the living koala.

It had a different diet to the modern species, with the dental symphysis unfused, indicating a diet that was properly varied in nature, unlike the specialised nature of Phascolarctos.

The Grey-headed Flying Fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) eats the flowers, while the leaves form a staple of the diet of the Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus).

Phascolarctos (from Ancient Greek phaskolos, referring to a pouch or bag, and arktos, meaning "bear") is a genus of marsupials containing only one species, the koala (P. cinereus).

The koala was given its genus name Phascolarctos in 1816 by French zoologist Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville, who would not give it a specific name until further review.